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In English we have noggin, melon, bean, coconut, knocker, cantaloupe, egg... and those are just the first ones that come to mind. In German all I know of is "Birne".

What are some other common slang words for "head"? Is their usage regional or specific to a particular situation?

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6
  • 1
    Off the cuff? Grind, Meggl, Deez, Riabl,... and that’s just one dialect.
    – Stephie
    Jan 3, 2020 at 17:37
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    Look at the synonyms listed here
    – πάντα ῥεῖ
    Jan 3, 2020 at 17:40
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it’s a) based on a misconception (there are plenty of slang words) and b) asking “why” a language is one way or another isn’t helpful.
    – Stephie
    Jan 3, 2020 at 18:08
  • Nischl nicht zu vergessen
    – Bernhard Döbler
    Jan 3, 2020 at 21:56
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    This question could well have been used to open a community wiki for collecting such terms. I suppose we would have found 50 at least.
    – Christian Geiselmann
    Jan 6, 2020 at 18:40

2 Answers 2

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Slang words for "head" in German:

  • Rübe
    • Ribble [bes. südwestd.]
  • Birne
  • Kürbis
  • Melle
  • Deetz
  • Dach (eins aufs Dach kriegen)
  • Nuss
  • Lampe
  • Omme(l)
  • Grind [schweizerisch]
  • Däz [bes. schwäb.]
  • Meckel [bes. schwäb.]
  • Nischl [bes. mitteld.]
  • Schädel, Dickschädel, Quadratschädel
  • Oberstübchen

Thanks to Iris for the link to an initial list and to Christian Geiselmann for suggesting to open a community wiki.

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  • I'm not sure whether Dach really belongs on that list: As far as I know, it is only a synonym for head when used in the given phrase. I'm not aware of any other context where Dach would be understood as Kopf. BTW: The same phrase & meaning is also used with Glocke or Zwölf.
    – Arsak
    Jan 7, 2020 at 23:21
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    Die Liste sieht recht vollständig aus. Nur das Oberstübchen vermisse ich.
    – Ralph
    Jan 7, 2020 at 23:41
  • @Ralph Ist ergänzt
    – Arsak
    Jan 8, 2020 at 8:37
  • Da fehlt noch was aus dem norddeutschen/plattdeutschen Raum: "Dötz" ("Nimm ma' dein'n Dötz aus'm Bild!") und auch der "Kopp" ("Mach dir da mal kein' Kopp drum!", oder "Da packst dir doch an'n Kopp!")
    – waka
    Jan 8, 2020 at 9:31
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In austria there are some additional slang words for head:

  • Batterie
  • Marün (Marille/Aprikose)
  • Deckel (Auf den Deckel bekommen)

There may be more but I can not think of more right now.

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